Crotty grew up in Orlando. He graduated from
Valencia Community College in 1970 and
University of Central Florida in 1972, and he also attended
Florida State University. After three years doing waste manage consultation under contract from the
United States Environmental Protection Agency, he was selected to the Orlando Chamber of Commerce's first "Leadership Orlando" program. In 1978, he was first elected to the
Florida House of Representatives. Later he served in the
Florida Senate as the
Republican Floor Leader. The first piece of legislation he co-sponsored was the law that changed the name of FTU, his alma mater, to the
University of Central Florida. He was the prime sponsor of the law that created the "Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program", the first and largest of its kind in the United States. One of the last pieces of legislation he sponsored was the "Junny Rios-Martinez Act" in 1992, named after the victim of former Florida Death Row inmate
Mark Dean Schwab, which denied parole and early release to violent
sexual predators. After 14 years of service in Tallahassee, Crotty returned to Orlando and was elected the Orange County Property Appraiser in 1992. He began the upgrade of the office to include modern personal computer technology in its tasks. On January 23, 2001, after the confirmation of Orange County Chairman (former name of the position of Mayor)
Mel Martinez as the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Florida Governor
Jeb Bush appointed Crotty to replace Martinez. Crotty was subsequently elected to the position in
2002, and re-elected in
2006, receiving 73% and 70% of the vote, respectively. The position of Orange County Mayor carries a
term limit of two terms, but since Crotty was appointed in the latter half of Martinez's term, he was permitted to run for two full terms. On September 10, 2010, it was confirmed that
Armando Gutierrez and Crotty had negotiated the potential move of the Tampa Yankees to Orlando. Crotty was a key supporter of an aggressive expansion project for
Orange County Public Schools, which was passed by Orange County voters in 2002. Crotty was a significant fundraiser for George W. Bush during the 2004 election. Crotty was instrumental in winning a new medical school for the University of Central Florida and convincing the
Burnham Institute to build a new research facility in
Orange County as part of his vision for the Innovation Way high-tech corridor. Richard Crotty currently serves as the executive vice president of Crossman & Company, overseeing their Corporate Advisory Services. In August 2018, the
Orange County Republican party elected Crotty as state committeeman, replacing Paul Paulson. ==Recognition==